


Children of The Balance

by bb8isgreat



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Family Drama, Force Healing, Force Visions, Poison Gas, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Reylo - Freeform, Reylo Baby, Slavery, That's Not How The Force Works, The Dark Side of the Force
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:53:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22765789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bb8isgreat/pseuds/bb8isgreat
Summary: Takes place 20 years after episode 9. Ben hasn't died, he went to the Resistance with Rey and after some trouble, started helping the Galactic Alliance (New, New republic). They have 2 kids. Finn and Rose have a daughter, Poe and Lieutenant Connix have a son. New planets will be introduced as well, along with Thrawn and characters from Star Wars Rebels. Cross-posted on Fanfiction.net. Feel free to leave kudos and comments.
Relationships: Finn/Rose Tico, Kaydel Ko Connix/Poe Dameron, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. A Cry in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> okay so rey and ben have a two month old daughter, rey has nightmares, and a new threat rises. thats basically it.

"Mama, nooooo!"Rey jumps out of bed, breathing hard. Only a dream, it's just a dream, she reminds herself, as Ben stirs next to her, not awake yet, but she knows that he senses her nightmares. Their two month old daughter is sleeping soundly in her crib, and Rey turns over, trying to go back to sleep. Not long after she's finally started to drift off, a cry pierces the room's silence, waking her, and Ben. "I'll get her, sweetheart. You should get more rest." Ben gets up to comfort their crying daughter,, but the vivid dream still haunts her, replaying every time she closes her eyes. Ben comes back over and sits, Lia falling asleep in his arms. "Rey, tell me what's bothering you." "I'm fine.", Rey says. "No you're not. Do your dreams have anything to do with why you've been so restless?" Rey sighs, letting her head fall on his shoulder. " I've been having dreams of her being ripped away from us, forced to her find her way alone, without anyone. It might be a vision, but I'm not sure anymore." She can't stop the tears from freely flowing, and Ben gently wipes them away. "Sweetheart, it's what you're afraid of for her. You and I were both robbed of a happy childhood. She won't be. Visions are often our deepest fears manifested, and trying to fight them only makes things worse." 

Rey tries to focus, calming her inner self, focusing on her connection with Ben. He's in a meeting, and she listens in, curious. "If these-creatures, are as dangerous as you say, prove it", the official snorts. " I tried to search one of their minds for more information, but they were completely resilient to any mind probing. The alarming thing is that, none of these creatures are force users. This could be dangerous." 'What?', Rey thinks. I never learned about any force resistant creatures. Why didn't he tell me? A knock sounds outside the door, and she goes to answer. "Rey, are you there?" Leave it to Rose to show up at times like these "Yeah. I'm coming." Rey says as she opens the door for Rose and her one year old daughter Flora. "Play nice.", Rose instructs her daughter, as she playfully grabs Rey's hand and drags her onto the balcony to talk in peace. "Rey, what's going on? You've been far more quiet than usual lately. Even though you usually aren't too talkative, still, this doesn't seem like you." Rey smiles, trying to hide that she feels the opposite inside, and says, "No, just a lot on my mind recently. Any news on Poe and Connix's mission on Naboo?" Rose rolls her eyes. "No, but knowing them, they probably got sidetracked, especially since that fashion festival is going on right now. You know how Connix loves fashion .And knowing Poe, he most likely got into a fistfight in a bar, or a bet on who has the faster ship. They'll be fine." "I just hope they get back here in one piece, without someone hot on their tail." A moment of quiet ensues, until it's broken by a shrill cry of "MAMA!" "That's my cue" , Rose says, getting up to sooth her crying daughter. " But Rey, anytime you have something that you're worried about, come talk. My door's always open. "With that, Rey embraces her friend, and continues watching the ships flying over the city of Coruscant, sighing. "if only things could be that simple,' she thinks. 

Gases swirl around the small, ordinary ship as it makes it's way down to the planet below. "We will be landing shortly, sir," one of the humanoid pilots announces to the single passenger in the ship. " Very good." Admiral Thrawn says. My name has been forgotten in the galaxy, he thinks. But the Empire will live on, through my followers. Right on cue, the ship touches the landing pad, and the safety ramp slides down, revealing the white garbed Admiral. Four aliens gather, two on each side to greet him, their faces covered by other living creatures shaped like starfish, moving slightly with their host's breathing. Thrawn nods at their welcome, spoken in a tongue he knows, albeit not as well as he would like, and politely follows them into the tall, elaborate meeting hall before him.


	2. 5 Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> not giving away any spoilers but some major things happen in this chapter but this might be a little upsetting if you've ever been kidnapped or forced into something with threats just saying it may not be but its fair to give a warning but this shouldn't be too bad but there will mentions of slavery coming up in later chapters. oh , and ben solo is a general just like his dad, what irony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so there has been a time jump, but this won't necessarily be a follow up to the previous chapter but will still follow through with the characters but the first chapter can be considered a one shot but now the story is really beginning and if you're wondering why Lia is called moon or crescent moon it's because she was born with the shape of little crescent moons in her eyes that's why everyone kinda just accepted her nickname
> 
> 7/25/20 NOTE: I am working on chapter 3 but it will be a while I'm kinda stuck but I'll try to get it out in the next couple weeks! Thanks!

"Lia Organa Padme Solo, put your brother down. He's too young to for you to practice using the force on him." The five year old reluctantly releases her hold on her one year old brother, and guides him gently down to the ground. "But mama, I need someone to practice on. Dad told me to practice." "Of course he did.", Rey mumbles, rolling her eyes. "Moon, we're not against you using the force, but Anik is too young for this. Why don't you go find Flora and practice with her? " "Alright," Lia mumbles grumpily, running out the apartment, until Rey can no longer hear her daughter's footsteps out in the hallways. Rey sighs, sitting down. Her nightmares had only become more vivid with time, barely allowing her any sleep, and not even Ben could help her fight them off.

Lia runs down the hallway, playfully giggling, until she sees her long time playmate leaning on a wall, watching her. "Hey ", Lia giggles, hugging her friend. "Hey Moon. Did you hear the news?" Lia looks puzzled, and shakes her head no. "Some smugglers and arms dealers are coming here to the capital building to sign an arms deal with our parents." Lia nods, still confused. What was an arms deal, and why were these strangers trying to form a deal with her family? "Anyway, why are you out here? Shouldn't you be studying with your Dad?" "He had to go somewhere. I tried practicing on Anik, but Moma wouldn't let me, so I went to find you. I was hoping we could practice together." "Sure Moon.", Flora says, grinning.

"The deal with these smugglers will be fragile, so we must proceed with caution." "But we can't give in to all their demands. Then the deal will be useless." Ben shoots back at Poe, knowing that they will do anything to get the dealers on their side, even if they must give in to the most ridiculous or insulting demands. Ben is about to think that this whole idea is terrible, until he senses strange life forms in the closest hangar, along with Rey's. Of course she had volunteered to greet the visitors, that was her thing. She was the more friendly and welcoming of them both, and whenever he tried to convince her that he could do the job just as well, she would just laugh and say, "You look too brooding." He would always frown, and retort, "I do not." Her answer was usually something along the lines of "You do, but its cute. Just not what government visitors like to see." His thoughts are interrupted by the door opening, and Rey stepping in with their guests, although there seem to be fewer of them then he felt at the hangar. "Our pilot and his companion insisted on staying at the ship to perform repairs that they do not trust anyone else with. We apologize for any inconvenience.", one of the roughly dressed dealers says, rather politely, considering his background. "Of course. Please take a seat." Turning to the council, and their visitors, she addresses them. "Thank you everyone for being here. As you know, the purpose of this meeting is to form an alliance between the Black Fire arms dealers and The Galactic Alliance. The terms of the alliance will be spelled out by General Solo." "Thank you Admiral. As you know, the terms of this alliance are simple. You will make sure to sell your arms directly to us, and in return, we will offer protection and security to your business." 

In the abandoned hangar, two figures hover under the ship, appearing to make repairs, but at a closer glance, the repairs are being faked. "Come on. We don't have much time.", the co-pilot says, clearly agitated. She turns to the captain to get a response, only to be met with silence, then "They told us to wait for the signal. We'll do just that. I won't risk my ship, and you are technically their property, so it would not be wise to disobey orders." "Then why is their brilliant plan taking so long? We need to get the signal early so we have time to search for the kid." The captain turns to her, looking puzzled." What kid?" "Solo's granddaughter. Far as I know, Han cheated them on a deal, causing them to loose money that they desperately needed. They've been out for his blood since then, and as soon as they learned he had a son, they've been keeping tabs, and now he has a granddaughter, so that's the only easy option to get revenge. They just want her so they can humiliate the bloodline, but I don't know anything else.", she finishes, but he's turned away excitedly. "There's the signal.", he says, pointing to a shining piece of jewelry hanging in the window. "Let's go." Together, they creep along the shaded parts of the hangar, keeping out of sight, until they reach a door labeled, 'Do not enter.' Captain Ugga scoffs, removes a tool from his belt, and clicks open the lock neatly, allowing them access.

"Finn, have you seen Lia? We're supposed to be watching her." "No, but Flora and Jet are here." The young boy looks up at the sound of his name, but then goes back to playing with the wooden dice on the floor. He has ashy blond hair like his mother, but dark eyes like his father, and an arrogance that seems to show on every feature. "I thought that she was paying with Iris." "FINN, we need to find her. Rey told us she was worried about some recent force incidents involving Lia. You promised to help." "I know. She was in the hallway last, with Flora. She can't have gone far." "If you're looking for Lia, she's at the meeting room", Wren mumbles. "WHAT!", Rose and Finn race down the hallway to see Lia walking along, not seeing the two figures walking towards her in the shadows from the opposite end of the hallway. Rose pulls Lia back, before the shadows fully appear, and jerks them both into a nearby room. "I'm contacting Rey. This could get dangerous." Rose activates her comlink, and seconds pass by, with no answer. "Rey is in the meeting", Finn reminds her. "Then we have to one choice. Remember the emergency plan we drilled with the others?" Finn look at her, shocked, until Lia speaks up. "Are we in danger?", she asks innocently. "No sweetie. Your Mama's coming, we just need to find another way to contact her. The coms aren't working." 

"They saw us. Did you disable all their com links?" "Yup", the younger girl next to him says. "No one will be able to communicate. They have to go into our trap to find each other." "The trap's ready, then?" "Yup. The crew member that they've been hosting for weeks got it ready. They won't know what hit them."

"Rose? What happened? The com-link isn't working." "Rey, someone's trying to go after your daughter. I saw them stalking the halls after her. Somethings not right about that smuggler crew." "Mama?", Lia asks, running into Rey's arms in fear. "Shss Moon. It'll be okay. We'll protect you." Rey holds her little girl close, stroking Lia's hair, reassuring her that she's safe. No one will take her little Moon away from her, not if she has anything to say about it. Voices echo down the hall, chasing her out of the quiet, and forcing her become alert. Rose is already there, ready to take Lia and the other young ones not old enough to fight another adult to safety. "Mama, I want to come with you." " Moon, listen to Rose. I'm coming back." Ben pokes his head in the room, looking concerned. " We'll come back for you sweetheart. We promise", she and Ben both tell their daughter, embracing her tightly in their arms. Anik is safely tucked away and asleep in their room upstairs, so he is out the line of fire. "Be brave, my Crescent moon. We'll be back.", Rey instructs her daughter. Rose quickly starts to usher the children to the hidden room, and Lia reaches for the kyber crystal hanging around her neck. Her Moma had said that she needed to trust in the force a long time ago, and she would do just that. Voices come closer, and a woman appears, along with a man, both carrying blasters and looking serious. "Where's Lia? She needs to come with us, or you all die." "Stand back.", Rose orders the children, as she unhooks her taser from her belt. "Get away from them." Rose orders in a strong voice. "No. You should stand back", they both say, raising metal batons before she can react, and bringing them down onto her hand, breaking every bone in her hand and arm. One of the hooded figures raises a blaster, and Rose tries to fight, but the other holds her down as blaster fires into her knee, and then stuns her. They then turn to the children, studying them. "Which one of you is Lia?, One, the woman, asks. Lia bravely steps forward, not wanting them to hurt the others. "I am." The blaster aims at her, and fires, stunning her, and the two figures grab her unconscious body and race back to the hangar, were the ship awaits them.

"Something's happened to the children. We have to go help them.", Rey says urgently. The funny thing was, there was no one pursuing them, and she didn't know why. Then some strange sensation overwhelms her, as it seems as if the others smell it as well. "Sleep. You will never see your daughter again.", a voice says through the shadows of gas, and blackness slowly covers Rey's line of vision, until she can no longer even sense Ben next to her.

"Sir, the cloners wish to speak with you." "Send them in lieutenant." Two tall white creatures, both female, walk in, and Grand Admiral Thrawn rises to greet them. "I hope you were able to work with what we sent you.", he says politely, and they nod. "The clone you asked for will soon be ready, along with the clone army." "Very good. You will of course be paid the full amount we agreed on, unless of course you acquired any other expenses during process." "No. We await payment. It was a pleasure doing business with you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading and as always comments and/or kudos are always much appreciated im still working the story out but i do have an ending worked out and i did take some, okay, most of my inspiration from the jaina and jacen solo storyline in legends but anyway i will try to get another chapter up whenever i can please be patient i take forever to update my fics oh and next chapter will have some villian action but I wanted to get some backstory and start the plot moving before going into the villian


	3. 10 Years later....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see our main character again, stuff happens, and we see what happened to the Galactic Alliance 10 years after the betrayal. Mild Language warning, along with talks of slavery. Just wanted to give a heads up. It won't be too graphic, but this is why I updated the rating to Teen and Up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking this long to update this, but I was working on concept art for some of my other fics and updating them as well, and I kinda got stuck on this one. The last chapter was kinda long, and I'm trying to keep the chapters at a decent length, so around 1,000 words is my goal, but it could be longer or shorter, depending on the chapter.

"The arms dealers in the outer rim are out of control. If nothing is done to control them, they will keep sowing dissent among the people." The officer steps back after relaying the news to the crowded meeting room. Rey sighs. "Has anything been done to see why they are acting this way? There may be more to this than we can see from just sending out spies and gathering information from outsiders." "There are rumors, but no one can say for sure..." Everyone turns towards the man who spoke, a quiet spy. "I mean", he continues, "Some have said that there are creatures and a nameless planet out in the far reaches of the galaxy, doing mysterious things." He is cut off when a young officer runs into the room carrying a data card, which, after a nod from Ben, is plugged into the console, revealing a recording. ¨The compound is at point 1,2. All the slaves are being kept here, and I heard a few more are set to arrive.¨ The female twi´lek saying this suddenly turns around, and the recording ends. Rey turns to Ben. ¨Slavery is illegal. We should send a full squadron to free those who are enslaved there.¨ Ben nods ¨I agree. Everyone who agrees with this plan, say aye.¨ A chorus of ayes follow, and Rey smiles at Ben. ¨Tell Specter 1 to prepare her ship. We may need her crew´s expertise with explosives on this mission.¨  


A broken, battered freighter touches down, its engines wheezing. The captain, a short, fat alien, steps out, looking around the hangar. He turns towards the entrance, where a girl, draped in a dirty brown cloak, stands. “Girl, get your sorry ass over here and fix this.” The girl, no older than 17, runs, tools in hand, panting. “Yes Master.” “And once you finish that, get your ass outside. You’ll be needed out there.” When he turns away, she glares at him, and frowns. “Yes Master”, she repeats, but with a sliver of fight in her voice. “Watch your tone. You belong to me, girl, and I won’t hesitate to remind you of that.” The girl’s face changes, first to show anger, then, after his words, her eyes narrow, and she glares at him. “Not anymore.” His voice raises, almost to deafening level, and his words become choppy, fragmented by spit flying from his mouth. “YOU, BELONG, TO ME!” He furiously motions for two of his minions to grab her, and slowly reaches for a metal rod nearby. “I’ve taught you this lesson many times girl, but you always deliberately disobey me. Hopefully this will forever beat that lesson into you.” He raises the rod, and brings it down with enough force to kill her. But it doesn't. “What kind of magic is this?!,” he roars, before bringing it down another time. He growls. “Get the slave up.” They drag the young girl up, while the alien reaches for an electro-whip. “Hold her down. Make sure she cannot defend herself.” The rod comes down, this time hitting its mark with dangerous accuracy.  


“You think about Lia every day, don’t you?”, Ben says, his eyes full of pain. “I’ve never forgotten her. I still don’t know if she’s even alive.” Rey mumbles, leaning into him. Ben sighs, embracing her, “Our spies have worked for years to find anything. Whoever those thieves are, they covered up their tracks well.”, he mumbles into her hair. She sighs into his shoulder, “You miss her every day too, don’t you?” He doesn't speak, but tears forming in his eyes say everything.  


Lia opens her eyes, squinting through the dim, dusty light, groaning. "Where- Where am I?" A female twi'lek answers. "For sale, like everyone else here." "That-that" The twi'lek looks up in alarm, but stays silent. Footsteps echo through the dimly lit stone walls, and a voice rings out. "Alright, everyone line up. Any funny business will be dealt with swiftly." The crackling of an electro-whip echoes through the room, startling Lia, as she turns to face the slaver. As the others start to weakly find their feet, she stumbles as she stands, the defiant look coming back onto her face. One of the lizard-like aliens turns toward the slaver at the door, whispering and pointing, "I don't like that one's look. Too much fight." "She'll learn", he mumbles back, his keen and practiced eyes watching.  
The only thing she could feel was pain. She could stand, but moving her arms or back soon proved to be impossible. Lia looked around, the other slaves had started to move, leaving her in the corner. The slaver turns, noticing her standing there. ¨So you´re the one they got rid of. I can see why. You´re another worthless slave going to Kessel. They like the ones with some fight left in ´em. Makes for a good show during royal banquets.¨ ¨Lia stands there, silent. Her master never considered her anyone special, but after that incident with the whip, he panicked, and immediately sold her. Why? Her thoughts are broken by the sound of a whip igniting. ¨Now, let us see if they'll like you better with a few more scars. Maybe you won't be a dancer, but they always need mine ¨workers¨, and the ones with scars fetch higher prices.¨ Lia jerks her head up, but he has already motioned for his assistants to hold her. The whip falls onto her back. But she stays silent, knowing that screaming could make it far worse. She had to stand up for herself the other day. But now, she almost regretted it. She had always been a silenced voice in a sea of silent voices, but never stood up for any of the others. She knew that the one you stood up for could be dead from a beating the next day. It was better to let them go away to a better place, where they would not suffer any longer. Painfully, she moves forward, ignoring the groans around her, deaf to the sounds she had heard so long.  


She doesn't get a chance to see exactly where they are, because as soon as they line up in the dark, musty stone hallway, bags are placed over their faces, and chains around their feet, holding them together, but also down. They march painfully through who knows where, the slave whips herding them to the auction block. Even though Lia had never been on one, she had accompanied her master to several, as he bought and sold other slaves, but never her. She was always spared, mostly because he always shivered in fear when someone asked about her, and ordered her to go back to the ship. But she no longer had the freedom to say anything, not this time. Not after her outburst had nearly gotten her killed. The block was in the middle of a large arena, like the kinds used for sporting events around the galaxy, and slaves would be shoved on there on at a time, to be poked and prodded by multiple buyers, and then bidding would start. The highest bidder won. Usually. Sometimes a fight would break out, and the slave would go to the next highest bidder that wasn't involved in the fighting.They were just property. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less.  


The auction begins, but no one bothers to take the sacks off. In fact, from what she hears, the sacks aren't even removed on the block. The cheers of buyers can be heard loud and clear though, even through the heavy, coarse sack covering her head. The auction noises continue, and she can see through what little light does shine through that she is close to where each slave is sent off to be sold. She is almost lulled into a kind of trance by these noises after hearing for such a long period of her life, but all stops. Silence reigns, and she tries to listen, but, nothing. The auction has almost silenced itself, but why? Even with her limited knowledge, Lia knows that this system has openly rebelled against the Galactic Alliance before. Whenever that happened, her master would always hide her in the ship, saying that she was property that needed to be kept in good condition. She had never seen these fighters before, but she had heard rumors. Legends, many slaves said. Of two warriors, one light, one dark, who had come together and fought like no others in the galaxy.  


The silence has become deafening, and Lia tries to raise her arms, but to no avail. But then, voices? The slavers who put this together have come to them, and are now lifting the sacks over their heads, allowing the light to blind the slaves. Their chains soon follow, and a few slaves start to cry in joy. But they are soon silenced, as a single sniper fires, leaving a thin wisp of smoke among the crowd. One speaks to the other in a language that few have heard, and they raise guns, aiming at the rest of the huddled slaves.  


¨This is Starbird Leader, checking in.¨ ¨Gotcha. Meet the ground fighters at point 1,2. Support them if needed.¨ ¨Roger that. Starbird Leader checking out.¨  


Rey looks out of the ship at the abandoned courtyard. Ben stands behind her, surveying a map of the grounds. ¨The scanners were blocked in this section here. I think that's where they could be hiding.¨ ¨I hope so. It could be a trap.¨ Ben looks at her, realizing what she means. They still have not forgotten that trap all those years ago. He shakes his head, trying to block out any thought of that day. ¨Rey, we need to go in there. The other troops are occupied with trying to find the leaders of this operation. The reported slaves in the compound will be in danger.¨ She sighs. ¨And we are the only ones who have not engaged the enemy yet. All right. Let's go see where they´re keeping them.¨  


Rey and Ben stare at the blank wall before them. No, there were people behind there. Then, they hear it. The blaster shots. The screams. ¨We can´t let them cover their tracks. We have to break down the door.¨, Rey shouts. ¨It's sealed!¨, Ben shouts back.  


¨Ghost, we have a situation. The compound door is sealed. The Ground leaders have no way in. One of you needs to get down there and get that wall blasted open.¨ ¨Copy that. Specter 1 out. Jacen, get those explosives ready.¨

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for putting up with my infrequent updating, and thanks for reading. I honestly don't know when this will be updated again, but I'll try my best.


	4. Chosen, you were not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter discusses some heavy themes. For example, slavery, death, and mass murder, among others. I´m so sorry it took a long time to update, but this chapter is important, and since it kickstarts a lot of events and arcs in this story, I wanted to take my time and make sure everything made sense.

¨Mom, did Sabine label these?¨ ¨She should have. Unless Ezra somehow mixed up the labels.¨ Jacen sighs. Even though Uncle Ezra is quite capable, he still manages to goof up something every once in a while. ¨I'll double check.¨ Jacen once again looks over the containers, and sees the one that they need, which, surprisingly, hasn´t been labeled. ¨Found it!¨ ¨I´ll land as close as possible to General Solo. You need to get those explosives down there fast.¨

¨Ben! Behind You!¨, Rey shouts, as several battle droids march at them from behind. ¨What the-I thought those things were long gone!¨, shouts Ben in return, as the soft purple glow of his saber once again becomes a blur, deflecting the shots being fired at him. ¨Are those explosives almost here?¨, Ben shouts over the sounds of battle. ¨They should be here any minute.¨, Rey yells back, swinging her blade to catch a stray bolt. 

¨They've found us. Leave the slaves and get to the ship.¨ ¨The secrets, they are in danger. What should we do?¨ ¨Leave that to me.¨ He carefully places a small metal ball on the ground behind him, and steps forward. ¨Goodbye.¨, he says simply, turning and running out of the cave.

She stares after the slaver, unsure, but alert. The others in the cave are huddled like a herd of animals, hiding from the predator that awaits them. Her alertness soon turns to the small metal object on the ground, as it quivers slightly. Unnoticed by all, a small hole opens, releasing gas into the air.

¨General Solo, the explosives.¨, Jacen says, panting. ¨Thank you.¨, Rey says, as their small band of soldiers continues to fight off the small remainder of droids. The arid, scrub covered plains of the planet Tuku have so far been ideal for transporting the explosives, according to Jacen, and her concern now drifts to those poor slaves being held inside. She knows all too well what being another creature´s property is like. She watches, and waits. If there is anyone who can give them more information on this recent underground activity, it's whoever holds the innocent people inside. But there is something else she and Ben are looking for, something that this slaver could possibly tell them.

¨Everyone, stand back. This might be a bit- colorful.¨ Rey stares at him, confused, but once the explosives go off, she gets what he means. The colorful image of a deep blue bird with purple and orange streaked wings outstretched lights up the sky, and she sighs. They still have to get inside and see what happened, no matter how unpleasant it all will be.

Ben walks up once the aftermath has settled, but he can sense it already. They´re gone. All of them. 

Flora Tico exits the shuttle, watching as the explosion lights up the sky. Whoever triggered that explosion needs to teach me, she thinks, as she walks down to help aid the medics. Sure, she´s got a lot of technical skills, but healing is something that always interested her, especially after she saw some lone force user heal on a mission. Sure, she may not have the force, but she had spent 9 years of her life so far around those healers, picking up whatever she could, and this was the first time she had been sent out with the medics to assist them in any way she could. With her still somewhat limited skills, it wasn't easy, but she liked challenges. And she was always happy to help. Like her mom had always said, she was fighting to save the people she loved, not to kill those she hated. 

Rey nearly wants to scream at what she sees in the darkness. Dead. Every innocent life here is gone. Bodies litter the floor, but nothing. No weapon slashes or blaster wounds on any of them. No. Could someone still be alive? No. But that force signature, so faint, but familiar in some way. It has to be someone here.

Ben pulls her back though, before they step in to investigate. ¨Rey, something in there killed them. Whatever it is needs to be identified before we can investigate further.¨ Rey nods, and turns away, allowing a technician to continue scanning the area. Then, she sees one of the starfighters make a quick landing near the group.

¨Jet, did you catch their ship?¨ ¨No General. But one of my pilots managed to fire a torpedo containing a tracking device at it. And the best part is, they can't scan it.¨ ¨Well done. Make sure any Alliance ships can get through. We may need more help than we thought. ¨Did something go wrong?¨ ¨We- ¨, she pauses, composing herself. ¨We failed.¨ ¨Wait- did those slaves you came here to rescue make it out okay?¨ ¨No Jet. None of them did.¨ ¨Oh.¨ ¨Master Rey, there is something the technicians wish for you to see.¨ ¨I´ll be right there 3PO.¨ She turns, beginning to walk away, but stops for a minute. ¨Oh, and Jet, your father wants to speak with you.¨ 

¨Master Rey, the scanners did indeed pick up a very faint lifeform. But they also picked up something unusual in the air. Perhaps it would be best if you put on protective suits.¨ ¨Very well. But we need to hurry.¨

Darkness. All she can see is darkness. Whatever was set off was supposed to kill her, not start-this. Whatever this is. She hears voices. Lots of voices. She sees a blue nebula surrounding a cluster of bright white stars. But nothing else. Then she feels it. Familiar, but unfamiliar. Then a singular voice rises above the others. ¨Child, why did you come here?¨ She cannot answer, but another voice rings out. ¨No an accident, this is. Life, given to you it was. The reason, unknown it is. Chosen, you were not. Hope, you have not. Why, we cannot answer.¨ Everything fades, and a dark silence slowly takes over once again.

¨Ben, I- I think she could be...¨ ¨I know, I know. At least she was finally free.¨ ¨No. I sensed-something. I can't explain it. But I know she is here. One way or another.¨

Rey can't look at the bodies. When this is all over, the least they can do is give these poor people a decent burial, probably the first decent thing in their life. Then she senses what she felt before. That darkness. But a darkness that feels-alive, unlike that cold that has settled over the scene. ¨Ben, I think this is her.¨

Ben nearly has a heart attack in his suit at seeing the teenager on the ground. She looks quite similar to Rey, with the exception of her hair. But what gets him is her force signature. It is not strong right now, but something about it seems off. The darkness could very well be why, but she doesn't seem to be a trained force user.

¨Medic! We need a medic.¨ , Rey shouts, gently laying her daughter on the ground outside the cave. She sees Flora racing towards them, along with another. ¨Lia? How-What…?¨ ¨Will she make it?¨ ¨Hard to say. We need to get her back to the launch ship. I can stabilize her here, but she´ll need more advanced treatment than I have available.¨ ¨Do what you need to do.¨, Rey tells Flora.

¨I need an oxygen mask pronto.¨ Flora yells, before turning to the girl again. ¨She's in bad shape.¨ Then, she remembers something from many years ago. ¨Hey Rey, can you come over here for a second?¨ ¨Rey runs over, and stops, staring worriedly. ¨Is she going to make it?¨ ¨I'm not sure yet. But if you can, could you use your force healing technique to help stabilize her?¨ Rey looks surprised. ¨I-uh- haven't done anything like that in a while. But I´ll try.¨ 

Rey gently lays her hand on her daughter's forehead before closing her eyes and focusing. Whatever this injury is, it is most definitely not something that she can heal. Unlike a more superficial wound, this is deeper. A lot deeper. ¨I don't think I can.¨, Rey states, sighing. She wants to help more than anything, but she has never practiced her healing abilities extensively enough to heal internal wounds like this. Something external, yes. Burned lungs and brain damage, no. ¨It's okay. We have her somewhat stabilized for now. The launch ship has already been alerted about your daughter. We can move her now, if you are okay with that.¨ ¨Yeah.¨, Rey sighs. ¨Let's get her up to the ship.¨

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hullo everybody. I´m sorry it has been this long since I updated. School has been crazy lately, and I was struggling to find inspiration for this story. But I started writing late last night, and at midnight, I finished this chapter. I did wait until morning to edit and post though. Anyway, thanks for reading, and since I have two new ideas for fics, and since I have another fic I want to update, it might be a little while before this story gets updated again. Bye! (For now)


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